Baroness' Raymonde de Laroche, 1886-1919
Photos of Raymonde de Laroche have suggested an intensity that seems unusual for a woman in
the early 1900s. She sought a theatrical career but became a balloonist and her sights never left
the sky. Encouraged to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft by renowned French aviation industrialist Charles
Voisin, Raymonde took off on her first attempt and completed a successful flight with a pinpoint
landing.
That trial run was only her first record. In 1910, Raymonde became the first woman in the world to
receive a pilot’s license, issued as Brevet No. 36 by the International Aeronautics Federation. She
survived a crash in an air show and in 1913 won the Aero Club of France’s Femina Cup for a non-
stop long-distance flight of more than four hours. In 1919, she set women’s records for both
altitude and distance. Aspiring to become the world’s first professional woman test pilot, she was
aboard an experimental aircraft in 1919 when the plane crashed, killing both Raymonde and her
pilot. Yet, her influence in the world of aviation is without question, and a statue of Raymonde
stands today at Le Bourget Airport in France, the landing site for Charles Lindbergh’s famous solo
transatlantic crossing in 1927.
Photos of Raymonde de Laroche have suggested an intensity that seems unusual for a woman in
the early 1900s. She sought a theatrical career but became a balloonist and her sights never left
the sky. Encouraged to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft by renowned French aviation industrialist Charles
Voisin, Raymonde took off on her first attempt and completed a successful flight with a pinpoint
landing.
That trial run was only her first record. In 1910, Raymonde became the first woman in the world to
receive a pilot’s license, issued as Brevet No. 36 by the International Aeronautics Federation. She
survived a crash in an air show and in 1913 won the Aero Club of France’s Femina Cup for a non-
stop long-distance flight of more than four hours. In 1919, she set women’s records for both
altitude and distance. Aspiring to become the world’s first professional woman test pilot, she was
aboard an experimental aircraft in 1919 when the plane crashed, killing both Raymonde and her
pilot. Yet, her influence in the world of aviation is without question, and a statue of Raymonde
stands today at Le Bourget Airport in France, the landing site for Charles Lindbergh’s famous solo
transatlantic crossing in 1927.
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